Along with having one of the best websites of any winery I've ever seen, Pam and Mick Luckhurst and winemaker Michael Bartier of Road 13 Vineyards have raised the quality bar for BC wines as well! Pam and Nick bought the Golden Mile Winery in 2003, gave the name back to the region, and introduced Road 13 wines to the world. We were all knocked flat by their 2007 Chenin Blanc!
For a moment we'll let them be the ones to talk about it:
"The vines producing these Golden Mile grapes are a sight to behold – 40-year-old gnarled, thick, beautiful trunks that continue to produce big, perfect clusters of botrytis infected Chenin. The grapes were picked with relatively high acidity this vintage, destemmed, and crushed to the press with a small amount of skin contact. Fermentation was conducted on the cool side and arrested at an off-dry state to balance the acidity. A small amount of the blend (15%) was allowed to ferment in new tight grain French barrels and was racked from these barrels immediately following completion of fermentation – 3 weeks total barrel time for this portion. Some Sauvignon Blanc has been blended into this wine, bringing the contrast of very ripe pineapple aromas."
I can't add anything more to that---it's yummy stuff, and we're stocking as much of it as we can, for just north of $20! Stay tuned for more winners from Road 13 in the coming weeks and months!
